Landlords Should Be Held Accountable for In-Apartment Smoking

This “Breathe Safe In Your Apartment” campaign comes from my direct experience in my apartment. The illness and property damage and stress caused by the second hand smoke from a 24/7 chain smoker neighbor who smokes inside her apartment below mine has been severe and the landlord still has not fixed the problem after 7 months of it. The volume and density of the second-hand smoke she produced once pushed so hard up through my apartment that it set of my fire alarm. Smoke was coming out of my windows. Everyday her smoke floods my home, coming up through the pipes, the walls, the plumbing, fireplace, vents. I am allergic to cig smoke. After 8 months, the landlord still has not enforced the policy, and when the landlord recently tried to, this neighbor got so angry with me she bleach bombed my apartment and superglued my lock, threw food waste and fecal material at my door, among other things. People have a right to smoke..but not a right to force me to. I am advocating for the City Council and Mayor of Vancouver, USA, to put in place an enforceable city code that prohibits apartment dwellers to not smoke inside their units or stairwells. I am advocating that landlords be cited and fined per infraction and that any state contracts they have be revoked per repeat offenses. If you have a voice to say in this matter, contact the Mayor’s office and City Council of Vancouver at vancmo@cityofvancouver.us. Mayor Tim Leavitt is at tim.leavitt@cityofvancouver.us .